But that's not to say there aren't other reasons for Huntsman to use his veto pen to carve out portions of Senate Bill 2.

SB2 is being called an appropriations bill; if it meets that definition, then Huntsman has the power to veto any part of it, and he should.

Two initiatives wrapped into SB2 were defeated before they became part of the omnibus bill. One would take local tax revenue raised through school district levies and give it to charter schools to replace state funding.

Education officials and some legislators opposed the original charter-school-funding bill, House Bill 278, fearing it could cost school districts millions in local revenues.

The other defeated bill would fund a pilot program to help preschoolers learn basic reading and writing skills using computer software. We took no editorial position on this bill, but it was defeated in the House when it was debated. It should sink or survive on its own merits, not as part of SB2.

The omnibus education bill lumped together a dozen bills with language to fund the basic school program and with a number of other separate bills that already had been passed by both houses.

It's obvious that legislative leaders wanted to package the popular bills with those that had been defeated, in order to create an omnibus bill that was certain of passage.

Omnibus legislation is a poor way to make public policy. Congress has long used it to hide undesirable initiatives among many others thrown together at the last minute. That's exactly what happened during the 2008 legislative session; the huge education bill was introduced two days before the session ended.

Republican leaders defend SB2 by saying it was an efficient way to pass legislation when there might not have been time to consider each portion and vote on it separately. That's hogwash. Many of the 12 portions had already been debated and voted on as separate bills before SB2 was created.

Huntsman's veto would send a message that legislators need to hear: Omnibus legislation is a sneaky way to do the people's business and it won't be tolerated.